Theme answers:
- 17A: Wealthy relative (RICH UNCLE).
- 24A: Emulate Muhammad Ali (BOB AND WEAVE).
- 39A: Father-son talk, e.g. (FRANK DISCUSSION).
- 50A: Assembled in a makeshift manner (JERRY RIGGED).
- 64A: Get-together for the starts of 17-, 24-, 39- and 50-Across? (STAG PARTY).
The only thing that really jumped out at me with this theme was remembering that we just had jury-rigged in a puzzle recently. (Didn't we?) I guess both jury and jerry are legitimate in this phrase. Who knew. Other than that, well, I just really don't have a lot of time today, so we're gonna go straight to bullets and you all can flesh it out in the comments.Bullets:
- 1A: Eve's youngest (SETH). I first tried ABEL. Why I thought Adam and Eve would somehow be able to populate the world by having only two children is beyond me.
- 15A: "The __": placekicker Lou Groza's nickname (TOE). That's an awesome nickname.
- 33A: Older but __ (WISER). I've always thought of it as older and WISER.
- 44A: Annually (A YEAR). Never been a fan of "a" being used in place of "per." Just one of my pet peeves. We all have 'em, right?
- 66A: Used a prie dieu (KNELT). A prie dieu is that little bench thing that comes down at the bottom of a pew so you can kneel down. I learned that in a puzzle once.
- 71A: Rockwell or Gothic (TYPE). Okay, I went and found this really bad blast from the past for you, but I was watching it I realized that I totally forgot that Michael Jackson sings back-up in this song! How in the world did the King of Pop get himself mixed up in this lame song?
- 25D: Alamo hero (BOWIE). Never sure how to pronounce James Bowie's name. Is it like David Bowie (boe-ee)? Or like Bowie, Maryland (boo-ee)?
- 35D: Scrawny one (SCRAG). Whoa. Is this a word? I've heard of scraggly but I don't think I've heard of SCRAG.
- 37D: Walt Kelly's possum (POGO). Me: "Who the hell is Walt Kelly and why the hell does he have a possum?"
Crosswordese 101 Round-up:- 21A: Rio automaker (KIA).
- 45A: Jason's vessel (ARGO).
- 55A: North Carolina university (ELON).
- 2D: Nobelist Wiesel (ELIE).
- 29D: Arabian sultanate (OMAN).
- 38D: Soon, poetically (ANON).
- 51D: Kagan who replaced Stevens on the Supreme Court (ELENA).
- 63D: RR depot (STA.).
- 65D: Literary collection (ANA).
Everything Else — 5A: Special __: military force (OPS); 8A: Priest's place (ALTAR); 13A: Trojan War epic (ILIAD); 16A: Dog (POOCH); 19A: Sidekick who rode Scout (TONTO); 20A: Bagel flavoring (SESAME); 23A: Bones partner (SKIN); 27A: Free, as legal work (PRO BONO); 31A: Author Fleming (IAN); 32A: Titled woman (DAME); 36A: Dean's list factor: Abbr. (GPA); 43A: D.C. bigwig (SEN.).
19 comments:
PuzzleGirl, excellent write-up of a nice
FUN Monday level puzzle.
I know the "Beer Barrel POLKA" but it makes me wonder is there a "Scotch Barrel Polka?"
K-K-K-KATY, that should entice some comments.
At first for "Enticed, with in" I had 'ROLED' ... must be Jamaica calling, something about a spliff [which was an NYT ans. a few days ago]. But relos for REPO'S made no sense and I was ROPED in.
So that RIO is a small KIA.
I've always driven (loved) small sporty cars.
Never owned a 4-Door in my life.
That didn't settle well with the "Firms" Partners when I got the Porsche instead of the 4-Dr Caddy. ("to take Clients" to lunch, Yaddie, Yaddie, YADDA!).
Probably the reason I never made (nor wanted) "Partner" ... left the "Firm" became a CFO, took a company public, worked / lived in Zagreb, Sydney, Rio, Sao Paulo, Paris, London ... retired 3 times.
For once I wasn't fooled by that Ophelia clue, ACT IV answer.
capcha: booked, something my nose is always in ...
I'd been wondering about jury-rigged and now we have JERRY-RIGGED, so I did some googling. Jerry-rigged is supposedly a combination of jury-rigged and jerry-built.
Per Wikipedia, on ships a jury rig is a replacement mast and "yards" (sails) improvised in case of damage or loss of the original mast. Using jury rigged as a makeshift or temporary fix dates from at least 1616. Who knew?
Jerry-built, built in a makeshift and insubstantial manner, has been around since 1869. Origin of the term is not substantiated, but I like the version that says it derives from the walls of Jericho, which came "tumbling down".
Fun, easy, puzzle. I always enjoy it when I don't have to google to get the puzzle but can google after solving to find trivia such as the above which has no real applicability to my daily life but still enriches it.
And speaking of a rich life, Tinbeni what a life you are leading!
Super nice Monday puzzle! My only complaint was the theme reveal that didn't really sing to me. I would have preferred a 5th theme answer like BILLBOARD or JACKKNIFE.
Juryrigged and jerrybuilt aren't mix-and-match words. Jerryrigged is a corruption that obviously fit better for Mr. Doll. It's like substituting "John Henry" for "John Hancock" as a synonym for signature. That's a corruption too but very popular in the western part of the U.S.
I always enjoy and learn from your write-ups, PG, but please don't dis Pogo. He's the source of my favorite quotation, "We have met the enemy and he is us!" As the election looms it's especially apt.
No picture of SETH? Oh, right, he wasn't invited to the party. Maybe because he's not an adjective.
Pogo is most famous for saying, "We have met the enemy and he is us." APT for today.
Mark Twain suggested that there was a second Genesis in the next county, since Eve had no daughters. Otherwise...
And the days of Adam after he begot Seth were eight hundred years; and he begot sons and daughters.
OK puzzle, but who are these guys and why are they going to a STAG PARTY? The theme revealer didn't really do it for me.
Re: The TOE -- there's a great book called The Brothers K by David James Duncan. One of the subplots involves an older, career minor league baseball pitcher who has his pitching thumb crushed. They repair it by transplanting his big toe onto his hand (a real medical procedure, BTW). As a result, it gives new movement to his pitches and resurrects his career, earning him the nickname "Papa Toe." That's a small part of a great read.
And how come we never GIRD anything but our loins?
Thank you PG for the write-up. I appreciate them always!
For a Monday it was kind of "Meh" - I didn't think the whole stag party theme was especially fun and had absolutely no sparkle.
I have heard both JURY and JERRY so that did not bother me but SCRAG. Never heard of it and wonder if I ever will.
I think last week's puzzles spoiled me so I am hoping tomorrow is much better.
Have a great Monday all!
Jerry-rigged is a corruption of jury-rigged -- most probably caused by confusion with the term jerry-built. These phrases have different meanings and are not interchangeable. I winced when I saw this used in the puzzle; I really think it does not belong there.
Nice write-up, @PG.
I was scratching my head for a moment at the photo next to the 37D clue/answer and was wondering why this Possum wasn't used there, but then I saw Jerry and it clicked.
Loved seeing Lou Groza in the puz. A sporting goods manufacturer had a line of footballs stamped with his autograph, "Lou 'the Toe' Groza", one of which I had as a kid. It got a lot of use in afterschool pickup games. Years later, after Groza had retired from football and become a successful businessman, I recieved a telephone message to call a Lou Groza at a mid-west number, which I eagerly did. After connecting with the party, who politely identified himself as Lou Groza, I told him I was returning his call and asked if he was the famous "Toe". He laughed and admitted that he had been, once. I was delighted and explained that he had been one of my boyhood heros, and went on, in my enthusiasm to exclaim, "I used to play with one of your balls." Without missing a beat he laughed and replied, "Well, I hope you were gentle with it!" We did several business deals over the following years. He was a real funny guy, a gentleman, and an effective business executive.
@PG - Yeah, populating the world with three sons is ever so more probable that populating the world with only two sons.
Walt Kelly is also the source for one of my favorite little poems:
Eenie Finis
(Finest Foe)
Oh, I may be
Your dish of tea---
But baby, don't you
"Sugar" me!
Don't stir me, boy,
Nor try to spoon.
Don't sugar me,
'Cause us is throon.
@PG: you had me laughing with your write-up! Also think it is older and wiser (I hope so, anyway).
Why did I put in Boone instead of Bowie? And I thought the sports figure was called "The Top", imagined him twirling around before kicking.
@Tin: nice life! We did some of that, and it was good for us, too.
Easy Monday puzzle, the way I like it. I remember not long ago complaining about jury rigged, and now Jerry rigged, one or the other please. Just wanted to mention that I went to see Roger Waters in concert last night performing " The Wall". If any of you are pink Floyd fans I highly recommend going it when he comes to ur neck of the woods, it was truly a spectacular collision of sound and video, worth every penny.
@PG always enjoy your write ups, you are very entertaining!
Jerry rigged fell right into place for me. At the risk of really showing my age… I bought my first house in the early 1960’s. Buyers didn’t have home inspections done back then so my dad was the official inspector. He took one look at the plumbing in the basement (coal heat converted
to oil) and declared “this is really jerry rigged, a real Rube Goldberg”. I knew exactly what he meant.
for: @tibeni
K-K-K-Katy, beautiful Katy,
You're the only g-g-g-girl that I adore;
When the m-m-m-moon shines,
Over the cowshed,
I'll be waiting at the k-k-k-kitchen door.
Utterly forgettable.
Pogo is quite possibly my favorite comic before Doonesbury and later Calvin and Hobbes came along.
Political, biting, whimsical, lovable...the strip had everything. I remember reading it in the sixties, when I was not yet even a teenager...it was the first strip I read in the Sunday comics.
Run, don't walk, over to http://www.pogopossum.com/
Pogo stopped publishing 35 years ago. It was certainly good at the time, but it's no longer the time.
Post a Comment